The Unofficial
PARENTS' GUIDE TO THE DALLAS COUNTY FAMILY COURT SYSTEM
COPYRIGHT © 1997
Law Offices
of Raggio & Raggio, P.L.L.C.
All Rights Reserved
The official Parent's Guide to the Dallas County Family
Court System is a copyrighted work by the Dallas Bar
Association's Family Law Section and which is currently under
revision and may eventually be posted on a website. This
guide is intended to be as comprehensive as possible to help
familiarize you with the process of how family law matters are
handled. The information contained herein is not legal advice on
any particular situation.
DIRECTORY OF FAMILY AND JUVENILE COURTS
All the family courts in Dallas County
are located in the white courthouse at the corner of
Houston and Commerce. There is parking underground
entering from the west side on Commerce. The underground
lot may be filled some days, and there is street level
parking surrounding the courthouse. Don't confuse this
courthouse with the similarly looking federal courthouse
that is at the corner of Commerce and Griffin Streets, a
few blocks further east.
FAMILY COURTS:
| COURT | JUDGE | ASSOCIATE JUDGE | COURT PHONE | FLOOR |
| 254TH | Dee Miller | Mary Brown | 653-6136 | 5th |
| 255TH | Don Koons | John Elder | 653-6159 | 5th |
| 256TH | Brenda Green | Lewis Nicholson | 653-6449 | 6th |
| 301ST | Susan Rankin | 653-7385 | 5th | |
| 302ND | Frances Harris | Christine Collie | 653-7375 | 5th |
| 303RD | Richard Johnson | Jeff Coen | 653-7611 | 5th |
| 330TH | Theo Bedard | Marilea Lewis | 653-7207 | 5th |
JUVENILE COURTS:
| COURT | JUDGE | REFEREE | PHONE |
| 304TH | Hal Gaither | Mary MacAndrew | 698-4936 |
| 305TH | Cheryl Lee Shannon | Gracie Lewis | 698-4924 |
The Juvenile Courts are located on the 3rd Floor of the Henry
Wade Juvenile Justice Center, 2600 Lone Star Boulevard, Dallas,
Texas.
SUPPORT SERVICES OFFICES:
TEXAS LAW - The basics of Texas law about divorce,
custody, and child support explained and summarized:
FREE OR REDUCED FEE FAMILY LAW ADVICE.
LEGALINE - sponsored by the Dallas Bar Association on the
second and third Wednesdays of each month from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00
p.m. Lawyers are available at (214) 969-7066 to answer legal
questions.
Dallas Bar Lawyer Referral Service - (214)
979-9090. This service of the Dallas Bar Association makes
referrals to attorneys on a family law case on a reduced fee
basis for the initial consultation. The initial half-hour
consultation costs $20.
Legal Services of
North Texas - (214) 748-1234 (www.netcom.com/-lsnt).
Provides free legal services to low-income persons in a variety
of fields, principally public entitlements, residential
tenancies, consumer and employment matters and family law. Also
conducts evening clinic for low-income applicants.
SMU Civil Legal Clinic (214) 692-2562. Holds
clinics to assist low-income persons in need of help with
consumer fraud, legal problems of the elderly, landlord/tenant
matters and public utilities disputes.
SMU Tax Clinic (214) 692-3462, 3463. Handles cases
relating to tax matters for individuals and small businesses.
Protective Orders Division, Dallas DA's office.
This division of the office of the District Attorney of Dallas
County obtains protective orders in family violence cases. (214)
653-3600
Attorney General Child Support Division. See
Business white pages under government offices for the location
nearest you.
OTHER FAMILY LAW RESOURCES:
The Family Place (214) 941-1991. Counseling and
shelter for battered women and their children. The 24-hour
hotline provides advice on family violence. There are 2
counseling centers: 1) North Dallas, (972) 234-4743, counsels men
and women, and 2) Oak Lawn, (214) 559-4880, counsels women and
children.
Dispute Mediation Services of Dallas (214)
754-0022. Mediates a wide variety of disputes in non-criminal
matters, including those involving residential tenancies and
domestic relations.
Women's Advocacy Project 1-800-777-FAIR. Maintains
a statewide, toll-free hotline for women with legal problems
relating to family violence or abuse.
Women's Resource Center of the YWCA (214) 821-9595.
Conducts bi-monthly evening clinics providing consultation
services for persons with non-criminal legal problems involving
family law, bankruptcy, etc.
Child Guidance Clinic (214) 351-3490, ext 3432.
Provides a variety of services including psychological testing,
case management, individual, family and play therapy, and Dallas
OK (Our Kids), a divorce education program for parents and
children. Services are provided by an interdisciplinary
professional staff of professionals from a variety of related
disciplines. Services are provided at six locations throughout
Dallas, Collin and Rockwall counties.
For Kid's Sake (214) 526-4525. Focuses on issues
such as understanding the effects of divorce on children, gaining
insight into children's perceptions of divorce, talking to
children about family changes, how to avoid placing children in
the middle of parental issues, and maintaining a meaningful and
loving relationship with children.
Families First Seminar - EXCAP (Exchange
Club Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse of D.W.S., Inc.)
(214) 644-2098. Four-hour educational course focusing on divorce
and its impact on children. Concurrent four-hour sessions
available for children of parents attending the program.
Families First - Channel 8
(http://www.wfaa.com/ffhandbook.html) has published a 48-page
handbook with phone numbers and information about 510 non-profit
organizations which provide services to people in the Dallas-Ft.
Worth area.
Partners High School Divorce Prevention Course. This award-winning program, developed by the American Bar Association Family Law Section, strives to equip teenagers with the skills to get into the right marriage and stay there. This curricumlum is available for review by any Dallas area school or school system from the Law Offices of Raggio & Raggio, P.L.L.C. free of charge.
See also the Texas Resources
page at Divorcenet.com.